Souhegan River

Only last year, we were concerned about drought in New Hampshire. I loved the dry trails throughout summer and fall, but then there was an uneasy November afternoon when a fire behind my house crept through dry duff and brush up to the edge of my yard. (My town’s firefighters did a fine job that day, which is pretty much what they do all the time.)

I’m not anticipating any such excitement this year, at least not in early summer. June has brought rain and lots of it. Maintenance of unpaved trails has been a challenge. Trailside vegetation is growing lushly in defiance of mowers and weed-whackers. My supplies of permethrin and DEET will need replenishing before the season’s out, since pests like ticks and mosquitoes love this sort of environment. And you know what? I’m fine with all of that.

Mountain laurel and sheep laurel are having a magnificent year. Even the buds were beautiful, giving me a week’s notice of the bounty to come.

Close-up of mountain laurel shrub with white blossoms and flower buds. — *Mountain laurel, in bud and bloom. Photos by Ellen Kolb/Granite State Walker.* *This and other photos on the site may be reproduced unedited with attribution.*

The Souhegan River sure looks good after last year’s low levels. It has stayed within its banks so far. I love being able to hear the river as I walk through my neighborhood! Last year, it made barely a sound as flowed by slowly.

River flowing over rocks, creating small waterfalls — *Falls on the* *Souhegan River, southern NH, June.*

Several factors have kept me close to home lately, but I’m enjoying plenty of good walks. I went back to the Andres Institute of Art in Brookline to see what was new on the trails. This unique venue is set up on what was once a very tiny ski area. What used to be ski trails are now walking trails, with sculptures around every turn. New sculptures are installed every year, created by a variety of artists from all over the world. There’s no visitor’s center, but checking the website at andresinstitute.org will help orient the first-time guest. [Update, 2026: AIA now has a visitor center, including a gallery and special programs such as concerts. See the AIA website for most current information.] One of my favorite places on the site is at the modest summit. “Phoenix” by Janis Karlovs of Latvia adorns the view to the west.

Outdoor sculpture titled "Phoenix" on a New Hampshire hill with a ridge of hills in the distance. — *At the Andres Institute of Art in Brookline NH, sculptor Janis Karlov’s “Phoenix” seems to point to the Wapack Range in the distance. Note the rain clouds that characterized this rainy June.*

Rain has left the Rockingham Recreational Trail in Auburn soft but not too muddy. The walk eastward from the Lake Massabesic parking lot is one of the best quick lunchtime getaways that southern New Hampshire has to offer. Midweek is ideal. On the edge of New Hampshire’s largest city, sometimes within sight of busy route 101, the trail is a place of quiet refreshment for me. Wild roses were blooming as I walked through recently. I caught the fragrance before I saw the blossoms.

Unpaved rail trail in New Hampshire with wild roses growing along the edge. — *Along the Rockingham Recreational Trail in Auburn NH, you’ll catch the fragrance of trailside roses before you see them.*

That’s not too bad for a rainy June. I could stand a little more sunshine, but summer is young. Clearer days are ahead.

Wildcat Falls Apr 2017 — _{Wildcat Falls on the Souhegan River}

The Souhegan River runs through my New Hampshire town and through the Wildcat Conservation Area. WCA’s most striking feature is Wildcat Falls, and it’s the reason there’s a canoe take-out upstream where the river crosses Turkey Hill Road. Way too much granite and way too many fallen trees make the falls a spot that’s pretty to look at but lousy to navigate. The falls don’t come from a single height, but rather from irregularly terraced granite shelves and boulders left in the river when the last glaciers retreated.

There are a couple of miles of trails winding through the conservation area and the adjoining state property. All I was interested in today was a direct path to the falls. The walk to the falls from the Currier Road parking lot goes through a sandy, pine-y area that reminds me of where I grew up in flat southern Florida, where rivers looked like canals and where waterfalls were pure fiction.

Update, 2025: Parking for WCA is now available in Watson Park on US 3 in the center of Merrimack. A trail about a half-mile long follows the Souhegan River upstream from Watson Park, eventually crossing under the Everett Turnpike and emerging in WCA. If the parking area off Currier Road is full, park at Watson, not on the residential streets near WCA.